Hamad International Airport (HIA) has witnessed an increase of over 164% in passengers’ movement in the first half of 2022 compared to same period of last year. According to data released by Civil Aviation Authority yesterday, HIA recorded 15,571,432 passengers in the first half of this year while the airport had seen movement of 5,895,090 passengers in the first half of 2021.
The movement of aircraft at HIA during the first half of 2022 also increased by 33.2% compared to the same period of 2021. The airport welcomed 100,594 aircraft in the first half of 2022 while it had welcomed 75,533 aircraft in the first half of 2021.
Air freight and mail showed a decline of 9.4% in the first half of 2022 compared to the same period of 2021.
Recently the Civil Aviation Authority had also released figures of June 2022 which also showed an increase in aircraft and passengers’ movement at Hamad International Airport.
Hamad International Airport (HIA) had recorded a 39.3% increase in aircraft movement and a 149.3% rise in passengers in June 2022. In a post on its official Twitter handle, the QCAA had said, “The movement of aircraft at HIA in June increased by 39.3% compared to the same month last year. The number of passengers also increased by 149.3% compared to June 2021.”
According to the QCAA’s infographics, the airport saw 13,031 aircraft movement in June last year, but that number has risen to 18,155 in June this year. On the passenger side, 1,245,766 people passed through HIA in June last year, but that number reached 3,106, 063 in June 2022.
The latest figures consolidate HIA’s growth and recent recognition as the World’s Best Airport by Skytrax for the second straight year.
Last month, the QCAA, in a report, predicted that the number of passengers, including arrivals, departures and transits, at Qatar’s airports around November and December 2022 would be over seven million.
The report added that flights at Hamad International Airport (HIA) and Doha International Airport are expected to reach about 28,000 scheduled and chartered flights during the FIFA World Cup from November 21 to December 18, 2022.
The QCAA added that passenger traffic forecasts show the possibility of recording a significant growth ranging from +90 percent to +105 percent compared to 2021, bringing the total number of passengers in the year to approximately 34 million — assuming that the travel recovery continues and more countries remove health-related travel restrictions.
Meanwhile, HIA recently stated that its two-phased passenger-centric expansion plan would ensure increased capacity and greater facilities to cater to an increase in passenger capacity.
